Sparring
by NephFinch
Summary: The battles on Themyscira may just be for practice, but the competition and emotions are real.


I was often called to the field to fight her.

I wanted to find it annoying, but the truth was I looked forward to it.

We were all there to train her. Every time, an epic sparring of her versus all of us. I used to be a somewhat star pupil, one of the best fighters among us. Antiope used to pay me a lot more attention than she did these days. As Diana had grown older, stronger, more proficient, all of us turned our attention to her.

Again, I wanted to be bitter, but instead I was entranced. I was busy working my hardest to beat her. I wished I could have been annoyed that all of our time training was spent training her. But really, fighting her was the best training I ever had. She was the hardest opponent I had faced.

And she was charging me now.

I reached behind my head for my arrow, but as I brought it forward she squatted and spun, her leg catching mine and sending me to the earth.

My breath caught, but I didn't hesitate. I spun and quickly found my footing, standing back up. Her fist came towards my face, but this time I spun away before she could make contact. I nearly connected a punch to her face but she dodged left, grabbing my arm and using my moment to throw me to the ground. The earth slapped the wind out of me; still I jumped back to my feet.

I turned to face her, but she was already across the field, fighting someone else. Heat filled my cheeks; I had barely got a hand on her. It had hardly been a fight. I wasn't done.

I grabbed my bow from where it lay on the ground and slung it over my back. I turned and climbed the small rocky cliff behind me. From the top I had a good vantage of the fighting below. In one quick move I had lifted my bow, nocked an arrow, and lined my shot of Diana before I had time to think.

Was this going too far for training?

Would I really hurt her?

But then I felt the pain in my chest from being thrown to the ground. I felt my pride sinking out of me as she bound away after maybe fifteen seconds of fighting. I thought of how lovely that fighting was. How I wanted more. I wanted her to look my way. I wanted her to charge me again.

I loosed my arrow.

I froze. Ice cracking through my veins at the thought of what I just did.

She fought below and as the arrow raced towards her she dipped into a spiral kick, knocking her opponent off her feet, grabbing her shield at the same time. She raised the shield to her head as she stood and my arrow glanced off it.

A quick laugh escaped my lungs. It was exhilarating. She was amazing.

She lowered her shield and peaked her head above it, towards the direction the arrow had come from. Her eyes found mine and for a second she smirked. A perfect second.

Someone came at her from the other side. She swung her shield at her attacker's head and she was back in battle. My moment gone.

After that fight I became more and more daring. For a while I let off timid arrows like the first, at times I knew she would see them, knew she wasn't overwhelmed. But as I went on I grew hungry. I wanted to hit. I shot with intention, craving a victory for once over her. But she was good and the harder I tried, the better she defended. My best shot glanced her bicep, leaving a scrape. Another left a trace against her calf. But no real hit ever landed.

It was a dangerous game.

I felt confident that she was too good to ever really be hurt by my shots, but I admit I shot with the intent to hit. The better I got, the more of a challenge I gave her, the more attention I got. And I loved the attention.

My close combat improved as well. My pride made me scrappy. I couldn't stand to lose, couldn't stand to feel like I wasn't a strong enough fighter. So I found skills I didn't know I had. I surprised even myself with some of my attacks.

She had to concentrate when she fought me now. I could see it in her eyes. She was thinking, processing, putting everything she had into our battle. I wasn't a quick stop in her training day; I was the real test.

I was beginning to feel I really knew her, that she knew me. I knew she took the same pride in her skill as I did mine. I knew she respected me the better I became. I could tell from those little smiles she let sneak out when I did something truly special. All we knew of each other were our fights; we had never shared a word.

I often stayed after the training was over and all the other women had left the field. I climbed the rocky faces encircling the sparring field over and over again, up and down, until I could hardly breathe and I felt the adrenaline pumping through my face. I just wanted to be stronger. I admit I was a little obsessed.

One day, Diana delivered a strong blow during our fight. My forearm had been caught in the snap of her whip and my skin had torn. As I had turned to the severe pain, she flipped me onto my back and took off. My pride hurt from the defeat and I had stayed to work out my frustration.

I climbed until I was sore, my muscles aching and my breathing uneven, and still I continued to push my body forward. I found myself climbing away from the field, around a corner, out over a particularly steep cliff. My injured arm began to shake uncontrollably, blood seeping through the bit of cloth I had wrapped it in.

I looked down; I wouldn't survive this fall.

I gritted my teeth and focused back on my climbing. Every muscle quivered. I had taken it too far, but I couldn't think of that now. I pushed myself, moving sideways,

finding one hold after another until I was past the cliff. I used the last of my energy to take one risky jump onto a shelf of rock.

There to me was a small waterfall with a pool of water underneath. I collapsed next to the water.

I undressed with my good arm, dragging my sweat soaked armor from my skin. I slid into the pool, my breath catching as the cool water stung my naked skin.

I lay there for a good while, my muscles aching and slowly relaxing. I closed my eyes and focused on the pounding in my head; lost in this high I chased after so often.

"Hello."

I jumped, my eyes flew open and I turned my head to see her, swimming out from behind the waterfall.

She laughed.

"I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, I'm sorry," I said, wanting to get out of the water but feeling oddly embarrassed by how naked I was. "I didn't realize anyone was in here."

She waded closer to me.

"People don't usually come from that way," she said, nodding toward the cliff.

"That seems sensible," my head was pounding even harder now. "I think I may have overdone it a bit."

She was close now, I could see her chest below the waters surface. I watched it rise and fall slightly as she breathed, then looked away embarrassed. She reached for my bandaged arm.

"I'm Diana."

"A bit of a needless introduction, isn't it?" I said. Feeling goosebumps as she traced her finger along the edge of the bandage.

"Maybe," she looked at me and smiled. "But I figured if I introduced myself you might be kind enough to introduce yourself."

"I'm Neph," I said, wincing as she peeled the bandage from my raw arm.

"I did this?" She bit her bottom lip and smiled. "Sorry."

"I should have been faster," I said. "Sorry."

She cupped a bit of water from the pool and washed it over my arm. I winced.

"Thanks," I said, with a deep exhale as my arm slowly began to feel better.

Her hand lingered on my forearm.

I looked into her eyes and saw the same look of concentration she gave me on the field. _Almost_ the same, there was something playful behind it now.

Slowly her fingers trailed up my arm. She moved in closer in the water and I could see more of her. This time I let my eyes linger. Looking from her stiff nipples down her flat belly, delicate belly button, and to her nether regions now dangerously close to my thigh.

I looked up to her eyes to find she was doing the same to me, taking in my naked body under the water. Her eyes met mine. I let out a small laugh.

"I've been trying to hit you, you know," I said in almost a whisper, "with my arrows."

"You've been getting closer," her hand found its way across my shoulder and trailed down my chest to my nipple. My breath caught.

"What will you do when you hit me?" she asked, giving it a soft squeeze.

"I guess I trust you not to let me."

She floated forward, straddling me, resting herself against my thigh. I closed my eyes, just for a second, feeling her heat against my leg.

I grabbed her hip. She breathed in quickly.

Slowly, I traced my hand across her abs and around her belly button.

"You frustrate me," I said as I slipped my hand down between her legs.

"Really?" she breathed. I'm not sure if she was surprised by my admission, or my hand.

"I don't like to lose," I moved in deeper.

Her eyes closed, "Me either."

She began to shift back and forth as I teased her, pushing herself firmer against my leg.

I grabbed her by the waste and lifted her from the pool, setting her on the edge of the water.

I pushed her gently back until she was lying down, she couldn't see me as I began to kiss her thigh.

Never taking my hand from her, I slowly kissed my way up her thigh, so close. I skipped right by it and work my way down the other thigh. She let out a sigh. She lifted her head to look at me. I looked into her eyes as I leaned forward and found her with my mouth.

I don't know who enjoyed it more, her or I. But I do know when she let out her loudest cry that I had proved myself in this spar.


End file.
